Faculty

Dr. Meena Venkatraman Adjunct Faculty

Institute of Environment Education & Research

Profile

Meena Venkataraman is a wildlife biologist with expertise in carnivore ecology and behaviour. She is the founder of Carnivore Conservation & Research (CCR), a consultancy organization focused on wildlife conservation projects and research. CCR is a consultancy organization that undertakes collaborations with premier institutes, forest departments, and renowned wildlife documentary production houses.

Meena has been featured in various media outlets and is a member of prestigious conservation groups such as the Cat Specialist Group, IUCN/SSC Conservation Translocation Specialist Group, and the African Lion Working Group.

Education
Experience
Research
Publications

Education

BSc (Zoology)
M.S. (Ecology and Environmental Sciences)
PhD (Wildlife Biology)
PG Diploma (Environmental Law)

Experience

Extensive experience working with a wide range of mammals, from rodents to elephants, through affiliations with renowned organizations such as WII, WildCru, BNHS, and CES. Work has included ecological research, distribution surveys, status assessments, and reporting conservation threats. Also involved in school outreach programs, fostering a culture of environmental stewardship and conservation among students. Achievements span academic contributions (such as studying Asiatic lion reproductive behavior), contribution to the declaration of world heritage sites, conducting biodiversity surveys for planning development projects, and addressing issues at the human-wildlife interface

Involved with teaching topics in Animal Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation Biology for over 8 years in post-graduate courses. Experience in supervising more than 10 MSc dissertations

Research

(Recent Projects)

1. PI, Conservation Ambassadors: CCR Biodiversity Awareness Programme” implemented in Dhari taluka, Gujarat, India

2. Senior Project Coordinator, The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Goregaon-Mulund-Link-Road (GMLR) Project

3. Consultant, Gujarat Forest Department, Analysis of data and preparation of research reports and publication of scientific research

4. Evaluation of lion-leopard-human coexistence in the Gir PA-Dalkaniya-Ambardi region

Publications

(Key Publications)
V. Meena and D. W. Macdonald. (2023). Balancing conservation planning and mitigation: perspectives from a case study of the Asiatic lions. Front. Ecol. Evol. 11
V. Meena, Johnson, P., Zimmermann, A., Montgomery, R., & Macdonald, D. (2020). Evaluation of human attitudes and factors conducive to promoting human–lion coexistence in the Greater Gir landscape, India. Oryx, 1-10. doi:10.1017/S0030605319000760
V. Meena, Macdonald, D. W., Montgomery, R.A., (2014). Managing success: Asiatic lion conservation, interface problems and peoples’ perceptions in the Gir Protected Area. Biological Conservation Vol.174, 120-126
V. Meena, Y. V. Jhala, R. Chellam and Pathak B.J, (2011) Implications of diet composition of Asiatic lions for their conservation. Journal of Zoology 284(1): 60–67
V. Meena, 2010, ‘Site’ing the right reasons: critical evaluation of conservation planning for the Asiatic lion. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 56 (2): 209 – 213
V. Meena, 2009, Variation in Social Organization of Lions with particular reference to the Asiatic Lions (Panthera leo persica) of the Gir Forest, India Journal of Threatened taxa 1(3): 158-165.

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